Homework, 28th November, 2016

Read the Top Gear complaint letter and answer the reading comprehension questions that go with it. 

This is due on Tuesday, 29th November. 

Charlotte Simpson

122 Evergreen Terrace

Springfield

SP1 8YH

14^th December, 2014

The Editor

Top Gear Magazine

13 Sunrise Road

London

W4 8GH

Dear Sir/Madam

I am writing to express my disapproval about an article I read in your magazine last week. The article was about the poor quality of the roads in Mexico.

As someone with Mexican heritage myself, I have to say I found the article to be extremely offensive, as it was very negative about Mexicans. Instead of focussing on the roads, the main argument of the article seemed to be that Mexicans are bad drivers because they are stupid, and, while this might be true about some Mexicans, it is equally as true about some English drivers, and is certainly not true of all Mexicans. To suggest that it is, actually borders on racism, because you cannot make judgments about an entire race of people based on the behaviour of a few.

I think it would be a very good idea for your journalist to rewrite the article in a more positive light, focussing more on the poor quality of the roads and the fact that not a lot of money is spent on maintaining them which is, after all, what the article was supposed to be about.

I hope you will take my suggestion on board and, if you wish to contact me regarding this issue, please use the address above.

Yours faithfully,

Charlotte Simpson

1. Scan through the article and underline the following words:

Disapproval     Quality     Heritage

Negative     Focussing        Rewrite

2. Complete the sentence: ‘I am writing to express my _____________ about an article I read in your ______________ last week.

3. What was the article about?

4. What group of people did the article apparently offend?

5. The article seemed to focus on the idea of them being bad drivers rather than what?

6. Complete the sentence: ‘To ___________ that it is, actually borders on _______________ because you cannot make _______________ judgments about an entire race of people based on the ________________ of a few.’

7. What does the writer of the letter suggest that journalist who wrote the article do?

Now, if you want to really challenge yourself, have a go at the following, slightly harder questions:

8. Why are the first and last paragraphs quite a bit shorter than the others?

9. Why would the writer of the letter be more offended by the fact that it is negative about Mexicans than if it was negative about, say, Italians?

10. Look at the second paragraph. The purpose of it is to explain why the writer is complaining. What is the purpose of the third paragraph?

11. In what ways do you think the letter is effective in getting its point across? Think about the language the writer uses, the details she mentions and how the letter is laid out.

Homework, 21st November, 2016

Read the extract from The BFG and answer the comprehension questions that go with it. 

This is due on Tuesday, 22nd November. 

Homework, 14th November, 2016

Hi,

This week I would like you read the extract from The BFG and answer the comprehension questions that go with it. Unfortunately, I am not allowed to publish the extract here, but you have everything you need in your homework folder.

This is due tomorrow (Tuesday, 15th November).

Homework, 7th November, 2016

Read the informal letter and answer the questions that follow. 

This is due tomorrow (Tuesday, 8th November). 

 Samwise Fair

67 Rake Street

Chelsea

SW5 8UG

1^st November, 2016

Dear Nan and Grandad,

How long has it been? Three years? How have you been? Grandad, how have you been after the greenhouse fell down? Have you managed to get a new one yet? Nan, have you got any new knitting projects on the go?

I am writing to you to tell you what I would like for Christmas. I feel a bit bad about this because I haven’t seen you for so long, but mum and dad said you really wanted to get me something. So, what I would like is a memory foam pillow. I need one because I have been having trouble with my neck, and apparently memory foam is good for this. You can buy them on Amazon for around £25.99. If you could get me one of those, that would be great. If you can’t find one, or if it’s a little bit too expensive, then you can get me some Lego. You might be thinking that I’m a bit too old for that, but there are Lego sets for all ages now. I would love anything from the Star Wars range. Some of the stuff is quite expensive, but there are cheaper sets you can get for around £10. Again, you can get these on Amazon, or in most toy shops. They even have specialist Lego shops, which are quite fun to visit if you fancy a day out of the house.

Anyway, I have to go now because I’ve got loads of revision to do for my exams, which are coming up soon. I’m really looking forward to seeing at Christmas.

Lots of love,

Samwise

Questions

1. Who is the letter written to?

2. What happened that may have caused Grandad an injury?

3. What is the purpose of the letter?

4. How do we know this?

5. Why does Samwise need a memory foam pillow?

6. How much does one cost?

7. What does Samwise suggest as a day out for Nan and Grandad?

8. According to the last paragraph, what is coming up soon?

If you’re feeling brave, have a go at the following questions, which are a little more difficult because you have to make inferences from what is written in the text:

9. How do we know that Nan likes knitting?

10. How do we know that Samwise likes Star Wars?

11. How can tell that Samwise is probably older than, say, ten?

12. How can we tell that Nan and Grandad might not get out of the house much?